This time we share the story of Rose. Digital nomad with a strong consciousness and love for the world. She is passionate about socially sustainable travel, which we can all learn from. My name is Roos and I am a freelance online marketer under the name Follow Fernweh. My days are filled with online marketing as I travel the world as a kitesurfing digital nomad. This is my second season in far-away-and-warm where I prefer to spend time near the sea and the beach. My heart beats not only for marketing and the sea, but also for socially and ecologically sustainable travel. Therefore, I am also determined to leave a lasting impression both online and offline.
The following piece comes straight from my heart. After all, I think the world is a very cool place and there is so much beauty to see! That is why I think it is important to keep our social and environmental footprint as small as possible while digital nomadding. If we don’t watch out, in the future the places we would like to go to are very much a copy-paste of where we have already been. Without culture, without locals. And that should not be the intention.
On to a life as a (sustainable) digital nomad
Are you not working in Cape Town this winter? Then you are one of the few it seems these days. Since corona, digital nomadism is booming! Anyone can work from their hammock in Bali and we have proven that you do not need an office to shine on Slack, Trello, Teams or Google Meet. Count me in, I thought in 2021. After corona, I said goodbye to my permanent job to freelance and roam the world like a true digital nomad. Only, after a few weeks of traveling, I found out that I didn’t feel at all comfortable with the term “digital nomad. I was at one of those fancy nomad drinks in Lagos, Portugal, surrounded by fellow nomads talking about their kids attending international schools, where to score the best imported superfoods, and oh yeah, the hilarious idea that learning Portuguese wasn’t necessary. “Why should we? We have cheaper rent here than in LA, and we’ve already screwed up that whole U.S., so let’s just happily move on here,” seemed to be the general vibe. Not my vibe, this is not what I sign up for. That was also the only and last time I went to a get-together specifically for digital nomads. I don’t travel to encounter more of home. By the way, nomads are not solo guilty of this; this knife cuts both ways. The countries themselves have also discovered that there is more to be gained from digital nomads than from their own inhabitants. In fact, a lot of countries have introduced digital nomad visas to bring in “more of us” to earn from.
Why is this a problem? Gentrification!
Gentrification: we already see it in the Netherlands where many poorer neighborhoods of the past are now verhipt and full of cargo bikes. This is also happening abroad but on steroids. And digital nomads? They sometimes throw some extra spicy sauce on that gentrification party in low-wage countries. Picture this: you have a relaxed tropical village with affordable homes and authentic (surfing) vibes. That’s where tourists come in! And then the nomads come in too, looking for cheap rent and an exotic workplace. Before you know it, rents go up, hip coffee bars and coworking spaces spring up like mushrooms, and the original inhabitants? They feel the pressure. Digital nomads bring their own little world with them, often resulting in a kind of “gentrification on steroids. It creates a cocktail of rising costs and a loss of local identity. See, for example, villages like Puerto Escondido in Mexico or big cities like Medellin and Lisbon.
In a nutshell, digital nomads can intensify gentrification in low-wage countries by hurtling through a neighborhood like some kind of hipster tornado, sometimes giving locals a hard time. And that, my friends, is gentrification with an extra pinch of nomadic flair.
Here’s how to travel sustainably as a digital nomad
Therefore: cheers to conscious travel and harmonious coexistence! But how do you do that? Here are some tips to go on a digital nomad trip or workation for everyone’s enjoyment.
- Be aware of your influence.
Think about the impression and imprint you leave in a country. Perhaps locals view you with suspicion because they only see negative things from types like you. Show understanding for their side of the story. - Learn the language!
You don’t have to be able to speak a language fluently to communicate. Often locals already like it when you at least try. Hear their stories and share yours. Start with small conversations and expand your vocabulary with every interaction you have! To speak along is to experience. - Eat local.
Support local dining spots and skip those restaurants that are clearly set down for digital nomads. Taste the real flavor of the country and boost the local economy. Kill two birds with one stone! - Stay local.
Choose local hostels and hotels or stay in people’s homes through AirBnB. Leave the apartments offered for the locals. You’re not going to the other side of the world to sit in a compound and eat the same as at home for €100 a night, are you? - Give something back to the country you are visiting.
You work there and live there but you don’t pay taxes to the country. Maybe a little tourist tax but nomads stay longer. So donate to an NGO, buy local, eat local, take a nice excursion or rent a car. Make sure the money you spend ends up in the local middle class. - Slow travel is sexy
Travel at a snail’s pace and reduce your CO2 🙂 Stay longer in the same place and fly less. Really get to know a country, instead of ‘just doing it’. - Wasting water: not hot.
Shower shorter than you are used to: Water is scarce in many countries outside Europe. So pay extra attention to your water consumption, more than you would in the Netherlands. In parts of Brazil, for example, water has to be transported by trucks because there are no water pipes. Fortunately, you don’t have to do 10-step haircare there either, because those beachwaves will come naturally after a visit to the beach 😉 - Shop with your totebag or Susan Bijl
Leave those plastic bags at the supermarket and shop with your own bag.
And my god sometimes it feels like mopping with the tap because I can’t get over how much litter there is here. I’m in Colombia right now and the trash cans on the streets are really there for show.
But still, even though you see mountains of litter around you, that doesn’t mean you have to contribute to it. Use your own bag and throw your trash in the bin. Little things make a difference, even here. - Let’s Dopper!
Buy large water bottles and refill them: Say no to those little plastic bottles. Refill large bottles where you can. Most hotels and hostels have water points with those blue water tanks. Perfect for your Dopper! Are you stylish even there. - Take the bus
Go for public transportation: It may take some getting used to, but once you speak the language a little better, it’s great to get along with the country you’re visiting. Really, nothing is more satisfying than jumping on the right bus and getting to yell “ACA” when you have to get off.
Go digital nomadic in a sustainable way too and be more aware of your footprint during your remote work adventure. A destination remains more enjoyable for everyone if we use it sparingly. Cheers to fabulous and responsible adventures! Want to know more about sustainable travel as a digital nomad? Feel free to send me a message via my Instagram. Want to read more experiences from other travelers? Then check out more stories here.
